A smart meter is a digital electric, water, or gas meter that records consumption in intervals and communicates the information via a communications network (e.g., radio frequency (RF) mesh network) back to a utility company for monitoring and billing purposes (e.g., telemetering). The smart meter uses wireless technology (e.g., RF energy, HAN, Zigbee, Bluetooth, 3G, etc.) for communicating with the utility company. The smart meter can also shut off or suspend the delivery of these services, under any condition. The smart meter can also serviceload balancing, emergency, and now with electrical cars, higher voltages will be used in homes which can generate more noise.
There have been concerns about health problems linked to smart meters. These concerns are related to studies that there may be physiological damage caused by radio frequency energy transmissions. The World Health Organization (WHO)/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified non-ionizing radiofrequency radiation as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). While there does not appear to be definitive studies that show that radio frequency energy causes physiological damage, it is well to be protected from such energy as a precaution.